Starbuck's on a Sunday Morning
by WildwingSuz
Summary: Skinner discovers Mulder and Scully’s new relationship.


**Starbuck's on Sunday Morning**

**By Suzanne Feld  
Rated PG**

I know they can't see me; if they could they'd probably both stiffen up and quit acting like a couple of besotted teenagers. I'm mostly hidden behind an unlit freestanding fireplace in the middle of this Starbuck's and they're sitting way in the back together on a bench. There's a laptop open on the small table in front of them, whose I don't know, and they're hunched over it together. If not for the wandering hands and the occasional kisses and deep looks into each other's eyes I'd think they were still just partners. But now my suspicions have been confirmed—Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are together, as in romantically together. And I'm so happy for them I'm grinning like that bespectacled kid who just got his first Red Ryder BB gun on Christmas morning.

I rarely if ever see them in anything other than formal work clothes, and have a hard time keeping my eyes off of Scully. She was dressed in a form-fitting, V-necked short-sleeve dark blue sweater and faded old jeans, her hair hanging loosely around her face instead of sprayed into the stylish cap she usually wore. Mulder was in a baggy grey sweatshirt with a black t-shirt beneath and equally faded old jeans, his hair more tousled than I'd ever seen it. It certainly looked like someone's fingers had been running through it a bit this morning.

I don't care if they spot me, or wonder what in the hell I'm doing in Georgetown on a warm Saturday morning in April when I live in downtown DC and they know it. The New York Times crossword is ignored on the table in front of me, as is my empty iced chai although I did manage to finish my doughnut while watching them. I've known these two people for a long time, both in the office and on a personal level. All joking about Mrs. Spooky aside, I've seen firsthand how much Dana Scully cares for him, more than she'll—she'd previously—ever admit to. That time she thought that he was trapped on a ghost ship in the Bermuda Triangle was the single most amazing thing I've ever seen, and I've seen some incredible things in my years with the Bureau. I'll never forget the warm, sweet kiss that she gave me when I found those coordinates for her, and for a moment I'm jealous as I watch her nuzzle the side of his face. He turns to kiss her nose, then says something that makes her chuckle and snuggle closer to his side with one hand wrapped around his elbow and the other on his thigh under the table. But I've known for years that there was no one for Scully other than Mulder; it's just too bad that they didn't figure this out until fairly recently. They're been emotionally involved since they began working together and if not for that I'd have found a way to change our relationship, but it wasn't to be.

But my tiny spark of jealousy fades away to happiness for them as I sit and idly watch them, sometimes glancing down at the paper or tapping my pencil on the table. I'm in no particular hurry, I have nowhere to be or anyone to deal with for a couple of hours and I'm content right where I am. Whether or not they'd come in just a short time ago I'd still be sitting here enjoying the atmosphere and trying to decide if I wanted another spiced chai or maybe switch to a cup of iced Earl Grey. Now, however, I don't want to get up and go to the counter because I know they'll see me and likely move apart and stop enjoying themselves. I know they see me as the boss, that hardass who makes their lives difficult, but I was once a field agent too so when I give them shit, it's for good reason. I never, however, had a partner like Scully. Not just a gorgeous woman, but someone who'd put their life on the line for me without hesitation and care for me beyond themselves. Partners like that don't happen often in any law enforcement officer's life and when it does happen between a man and a woman, you hope they're single and unattached like these two. Which is, of course, why we're usually pretty careful to match up single officers of the opposite sex and married/involved ones of the same.

I've always wondered why they didn't get together sooner as the sexual tension coming off of them could be detected by a rookie. Hell, were I Mulder, I'd have been nailing her before the first week was up. I snorted laugher to myself, sliding my gaze away from the older woman at the next table who glared at me over her copy of the Christian Science Monitor. Lady, I thought, if that's what you're reading on a beautiful morning like this then you need to have a laugh to lighten you up.

My eyes drift back to the smiling couple in the back. While there are rules regarding fraternization, there are none against agents dating off the clock or even marrying, for that matter. There are quite a few pairs of involved agents around the Hoover building and none of them are a secret as far as I know but then none of them are partners, either.

Maybe _that_ was it, I mused, glancing down at the paper. I know Mulder's single-minded determination to find 'the truth', which is eclipsed only by his arch-nemesis' determination to make sure he doesn't find it, and Scully had joined his cause with a vengeance. But unless they did something stupid like getting caught screwing around in that admittedly-remote basement office—which I couldn't believe they'd do--I certainly wasn't going to break them up. X-files or no X-files, they were the best damn agents I'd ever known, never mind had working for me. They were wasted anywhere but working on a case with each other, that much I knew with certainty. And unless some jackass upstairs interfered again I wasn't going to do anything but let them do what they do best and try to keep their expense reports from breaking the entire department. Perhaps I could find a way to let them know that_.._.

A glance at my watch confirmed that it was nearly ten o'clock, probably time for me to get going. I still had two hours to get across town but on a Sunday morning, the town choked with tourist and church traffic, it could easily take that long. As I stood, gathering up my paper and tossing my empty cup and plate into a nearby trash can, I glanced up to see Dana Scully heading for me with a bright grin on her face, a look I couldn't ever remember seeing on her before. It make her appear once again like the bright, brash young agent who had confidently headed down to that basement office seven years ago. But she was older, the planes of her face sharper and more defined, fine lines etched into the corner of her eyes from years of living and learning—just like all of us. I raised my eyebrows, pretending surprise. "Well, Agent Scully what are you—oh, that's right, you live around here, don't you?"

"Yep, right around the corner," she smiled up at me, grabbing my elbow and urging me along. "Come on over and sit with us."

It began to occur to me that perhaps they _didn't_ mind anyone knowing. I looked over at Mulder, who was grinning at me and gave a little wave. "Uh, I have an appointment to get to," I said, letting her lead me across the room with little resistance.

"Hey, good to see you, sir," Mulder said, gesturing at the chair on the other side of the table as Scully added, "What are you drinking?"

"Oh, no, you don't have to--"

"We are," Mulder said, winking up at Scully. "And unless you specify we're buying you a double espresso with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles."

"Oh, all right," I capitulated and sat down, putting my folded paper in my lap. "Just a small unsweetened iced chai for me. I've got to drive across town shortly and traffic's going to be terrible. I don't want to spend the whole driving needing to go to the bathroom."

As she walked away I sat uncomfortably for a moment, then leaned forward and couldn't resist asking, "So when did you two become a couple?"

His big grin rivaled Scully's when she'd walked over to me a few minutes before, though I could see worry lurking in the back of his eyes. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"I should say. The main reason I didn't come over and say hi when I saw you come in was because you two were having too much fun cuddling up over here." I smiled back. "God forbid I interrupt new lovers."

He blushed. The man actually blushed; not as scarlet as I'd seen Scully blush upon occasion, but it was unmistakable. Then he looked right at me and asked directly, "Is it going to be a problem, sir?"

"Quit the 'sir' crap, Mulder, we're not at work. And as far as I'm concerned it'll only be a problem if you two make it one, if you get what I mean."

He nodded, eyes cutting over my left shoulder. "It won't be. We've already talked about it."

Scully appeared and sat down next to him, doling out drinks. I noted that she sat close, but not as close as she'd been before they'd seen me. This boded well; if they could keep their personal lives out of the office I hoped that everything worked out for them. But knowing these two something bad would happen, be it alien abductions or an old lover interfering or even just plain human fuckery, like one of them getting shot in a bank robbery or something.

We sat and chatted for a few minutes about nothing in particular, mostly sports and recent news. Finally I glanced down at my watch and with a real sigh of regret, rose from the chair. "I really do have to go," I said, putting my folded paper under my arm and picking up what was left of my iced tea. "Crosstown traffic's a bitch this time of the day on a weekend and I've got to be at St. Bart's at noon."

"Big date?" Mulder grinned.

"If you must know, I'm picking up my mother from her after-church Bingo game," I said with all the dignity I could muster.

Scully also smiled up at me as I started to turn away. "That's nice of you."

I couldn't help but laugh and smirk back at them as I started to walk away. "Just don't ask what I'm doing on the other side of town when I live fifteen minutes from the church. The big date was last night."

Their laughter followed me out into the balmy sunshine and for the rest of the day.

_finis_


End file.
